Dalai Lama Arriving In France Today, Chinese Pressure Mounts

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is arriving in France today for his six day visit to the country where majority of his programs are schedule in Strasbourg while at the same time he will be visit Paris as well as the European Parliament. However, it is report that the French President or any member of the government will not be meeting the Dalai Lama during this visit.

“This is the first time in five years that the Tibetan spiritual leader visits France, where no official meeting with government officials is planned.” according to a French report.

“The Nobel Peace Prize 1989 will speak about spirituality, science, ecology. In Paris, the Buddhist leader, 81 will speak at the House of lawyers and participate in a meeting on interfaith dialogue, “the service of respect and tolerance” at Catholic Bernardine college. He will discuss Tibetan culture at INALCO (National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations) and give a “collective hearing” the Tibetans in France, where 3000 of them are expected to attend.” said the report.

The Chinese government have been increasingly scrutinising the international visits made by the Tibetan spiritual leader by imposing strong political and economic pressures upon the hosting nations. This visit is also reported to be under strong pressure that the President Hollande or any of his officials are meeting the Dalai Lama.

French university Sciences Po cancelled a planned conference with the Dalai Lama which was supposed to a two-hour event with 500 students.

“We don’t know the real details behind the decision [of cancelling the planned conference], but the explanation they have given is very strange indeed,” the report quoted Robert Barnett, a Tibet expert at New York’s Columbia University and he said the event was going to be a major event for Sciences Po.

Besides an online poll carried out is said to have more than 80% of public has voted in favour to request the French President and his officials to meet the Dalai Lama during this visit but there is no sign of the possibility yet.